A riveting portrait of two legendary players whose fierce rivalry came to define one of the most exciting periods of professional basketball

In Celtic green was Larry Bird, the hick from French Lick with laser-beam focus, relentless determination, and a deadly jump shot--a player who demanded excellence from everyone around him and whose caustic wit left opponents quaking in their high-tops. Magic Johnson was Mr. Showtime: young, indomitable, a magnetic personality with all the right moves, he was a pied piper in purple and gold and he burned with an inextinguishable desire to win. Their uncommonly competitive relationship came to symbolize the most thrilling rivalry in the NBA--East vs. West, physical vs. finesse, old school vs. Showtime, even white vs. black. Each pushed the other to greatness, and together Bird and Johnson collected eight NBA Championships and six MVP awards, helping to save a floundering NBA. "When the Game Was Ours" chronicles an electric era in sports history, revealing for the first time the inner workings of two players dead set on besting each other.